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Club Volunteer Organizations
By Lee Wiese

A club’s organizational structure is the heartbeat for the club’s membership
at large and it is entirely made up of volunteers. The elected officers must
provide the leadership atmosphere to move the club forward in the fields of
hobby education, legislation activity, community involvement, guest speakers
and all the other interesting and important aspects of the hobby.

Metal detecting clubs vary greatly in size with some clubs having
memberships well over a hundred and other clubs with membership of 20 to
100. This means that some clubs have more resources than others but the
challenges for each club’s leadership are much the same.

In the table below you will see some of the resources required for a club
organization that must meets the needs of the club membership and the needs
of the hobby. This list of appointee and volunteers should not be considered
the only required club resources but a very good starting point.
Remember every one that holds a position in a club is a valuable volunteer
who provides their time, skill and talents.

What are the roles and responsibilities of club officers and how should they
execute those responsibilities?

President and Vice President must set aside their time to provide the
necessary leadership for the club. Leadership is getting members involved, delegating responsibilities, and
requiring general meeting participation by all appointee and volunteers in
their respective roles. Leadership is not being the sole voice at the monthly general club meeting.
Now having said that, I have witnessed clubs that do have a strong center
leader, are very large and very productive. However, having many members
involved in the club’s activities builds organizational strength and
centralism. In the future as new officers are needed for vacant positions
these positions can be filled from the appointee / volunteer members who
have already gained valuable experience in club matters.
Leadership is holding regularly scheduled agenda driven board meetings. The
board meeting should include all of the elected, appointed and volunteer
positions. The agenda should include a review of club projects, review of
open business actions and a discussion about what new club issues or
projects should be considered.

The Secretary should keep detailed minutes of all board and general meeting
for future reference and for board action.

The Treasurer must handle all revenues and expenses, provide detailed
monthly reports, year end summary analysis, handle all tax matters and
provide the club
with an analysis for managing membership dues.

Below is a brief definition on the role & responsibilities of each appointed
or volunteer position.

Community Liaison: person or persons who interface with public officials (Parks, Law Enforcement, News Outlets, etc) on the club’s behalf.

Program Director: coordinates all club programs (raffles, drawings, hunts), develops speaker programs and works with other appointees & volunteers on special club programs.

Raffle Chairperson: handles all aspects of club raffles.

Refreshments: provides the refreshments
at club meetings.

Web-site Editor: designs and maintains the club web-site.

What should your take away be after reading this article? First of all
officers and others support members in the club are volunteers. The club
volunteers and specifically club officers must provide leadership so that
the club will move forward and that members feel good and are excited about
going to their monthly meetings.
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